The instant invention relates to chemical protective hoods which are worn over gas masks, more particularly, this invention is directed to chemical protective hoods which are especially suitable for military applications and also have utility in civil emergency situations where highly toxic substances are in the atmosphere.
In the past, most chemical protective hoods have been constructed solely of nylon/butyl cloth. Over the years, a number of minor modifications have been made to the hood to enhance the doffing ability of the hood. For example, the eye lens and voicemitter openings have been elasticized to make the hood generally more flexible. In addition, a number of zippers and drawstrings have been added to the hood, however, these increase the complexity of the hood and the amount of time consumed in removing the hood. It is very important that one be able to quickly doff a chemical protective hood because there are numerous situations in which chemical hoods are donned when risk is very low. If removing a hood becomes burdensome, then soldiers and others who might don a hood in a low risk situation will simply not bother because the hood will be thereafter difficult or irritating to remove. In addition to doffing problems, currently available hoods do not provide flammability protection and are deficient in liquid agent protection due to the materials of which the hoods are made.
In view of the aforementioned difficulties of presently utilized chemical protective hoods, there is a need for a new and improved chemical protective hood.